Boiling Point
by Blitzwave
Summary: One change has shattered into many. Izuku is born with what he desired in another life, Hitoshi is given a path not originally open to him and forces made from the change slowly slither into place. Will our heroes figure out the truth of their circumstances? Or will the dangers of this brave, new world destroy any hope of them becoming the heroes they had once been destined to be?
1. Shattered Outlook

He was going to die. All his efforts against it were useless. Not that death had been something he hadn't thought about, but right now he truly knew that death would take him. Perhaps in some small way, that was why he had so recklessly told Kaachan that he couldn't let him die. Of course, a message like that would only infuriate him. Luckily enough however, perhaps he'd die of a different kind of choking besides this villain.

Yet, choking on your own bile isn't at all that much better a way to go compared to being choked to death by a slimy villain. A lot better than being used as a skin suit though, so there were some good things to look forward to. Panic flashed over Izuku's face as he suddenly realized what he was going to do, knowing how much he'd hate himself for doing this. Yet, like he'd shouted out to Kaachan, he couldn't let him die. Once his mouth opened and his eyes closed with tears pricking at the edges, bile was the least of Izuku Midoriya's worries. Instead of vomiting all over the villain and making him even more angry, something else happened.

Something… astounding.

From his mouth, came fire. A full torrent of fire in shades of yellow, red, and orange; all cascading from his throat while wrapping around and burning everything in front of him. This did include Kaachan's school clothes, but instead of complaining from the boy there was a sigh of relief as he fell from the villains embrace. Izuku may have had a familiar burning feeling in his throat that threatened to stop him in his tracks, but he would kill himself before he let his best friend fall face first onto the ground. Instantly snapping to attention, he caught Kaachan in his arms. A grunt coming from him as he adjusted to Kaachan's weight and turned away from the villain. Without thinking, he ran towards the pro heroes. Nothing but a need for help on his mind. Yet, he felt the tug of a slimy tentacle like thing on his leg. Causing him to fall, in those moments before he hit the ground, he threw Kaachan from his arms and towards those pros. Hoping that he'd reacted in time.

While his face was plastered to the floor, he heard a boom. A boom which seemed to transcend all the noise he'd ever heard in his life. Yet he felt no different. No broken limbs, no blood… but the kick was quite a bit different from the explosion he expected. "Get up Doragon." For a moment he thought that Kaachan was going to let him get up, but before his hand could've pushed his body partially up from the floor he had been dragged up by his friend's hand. "I thought I told you not to-" Unfortunately for Kaachan, the press had just gotten there and drowned out his voice. He let go of Izuku once they all began to surround the two of them.

"Why did you wait so long to use your quirk?" The first reporter asked, her notebook already full of notes.

"How do you feel about saving someone?" A second reporter asked, pushing up his glasses back up to eye level.

"Are you one of the pro's sidekicks?" The third reporter asked as he butted in past the last two. Each sighing in annoyance once he had.

"Are you going to UA?" Unfortunately, a fourth reporter entered the fray, which allowed for a little kid no older the six to blurt out his addition to the questioning.

"You're so much braver than the pro's!"

All these questions bombarded Izuku over and over. He tried his best to convey something, anything to respond and yet the words seemed to stay at the bottom of his throat. "Start fucking talking already Doragon!" Kaachan blurted out, a rather hard yet almost playful slap to the back coming from him before huffing in annoyance.

"Is Doragon your hero name?" The third reporter asked, making sure that he now stood in front of all the other reporters while the pro's were still dealing most of with damage control. Meaning that'd be a while before they'd be able to break up the press. Izuku looked from those pro's and back to the reporters. Those words swimming up from the bottom of his throat and finally coming out. 'Thank goodness I'm a good listener'. He thought before letting those words out.

"I didn't want to accidently hurt my friend!" Izuku blurted out before coughing and spluttering. His hand quickly grabbing at his chest as he began to wheeze with quick breaths over and over after Kaachan had whispered for him to just breath. Almost exactly like last time, he could still feel how scorched his throat felt. Luckily, it didn't stop him from breathing like it had before, but he doubted that speaking anytime soon was going to be a thing he'd be doing.

"He doesn't have one yet! Still figuring it out with his provisional license and all! Maybe Mt Lady might let you go all out next time?" For once, Izuku was thankful for Kaachan's brash nature. But after helping him stay away from a long trip to jail, Kaachan probably wasn't going to want to stick around with Izuku, not until their inevitable school meeting on Monday.

While more was wanted from the two, Izuku and Kaachan were able to use the arrival of the other pro heroes to slip away. "Get some fucking water Doragon." Sighing softly as he watched Kaachan walk away, probably wanting to berate Izuku even more than that after all this. Yet perhaps he was grateful? Either that or he didn't want to argue with him on national television. While Izu wanted desperately to contemplate all of this, he declined to allow his mouth to do his usual muttering. A loud cough coupled with quick short breaths as he wheezed pretty much sealing the deal on that decision.

'Yeah, that's probably it. Maybe I should have said this was the first time I used it with that much power. But if I can do that much damage to slime, then… I should test it out on jelly. Perhaps I could heat up ice, that'd work great against an ice quirk. Then again, if I were to place myself in a fridge then I could try and make an impact just through my 'vomit'. If I asked Kaachan to use his quirk then I could see if I could make an impact on stone at high velocities, or maybe those mounds of trash near Dagoba beach…'

"You're coughing quite a lot kid. You all right?" Suddenly, without warning, Izuku let out a scream. His scream quickly petering out as the wheezing came back, thankful to see who it was. Standing there was the one hero who had already showed how heroic they were today.

Mt Lady!

Up close Izuku was able to see her properly this time, noting her purple eyes and the oddly placed orange diamond shaped dots on her purple top underneath her chest. Except she had a frown instead of her shining smile. Probably since she was being accompanied by Kamui Woods, whom had practically dragged her along with him so that both could speak to Izuku. "Just cos I said I'd want him as a sidekick didn't mean you had to drag me over here!"

"Considering you took all the fame from my last attempt to be a hero, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't give you a chance now would it?" Kamui Woods responded. A shit-eating grin no doubt underneath his wooden looking helmet.

"Oh, go f-… Whatever." Mt Lady gave a sigh of defeat before looking from Kamui Woods to Izuku. That shining smile returning to her mouth once she'd let out another breath. Placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder and leaning slightly down to him. "What you did back there, Doragon, took guts. You were braver than 'some' other heroes going in and saving that boy like that! But you're an unknown kid, shame to say but getting into the big leagues takes support and I don't mean the class!" Izuku made a mental note to write down that Kamui Woods seemed to be against Mt Lady's humour (the face palm after her support class joke had given it away quite easily). "So how about you stick with me for a while kid, I'll teach you the ropes and when you grow up I'll let you be my sidekick! You'll be nationally famous! How does that sound?"

"He's going to be famous with the Yōso Specialization Agency without you. That's YSA for short Izu." Immediately Mt Lady turned away from Izuku. Facing Kamui with a scowl for just butting in like that. Just as Kamui was about to state something else that she hadn't considered, Mt Lady made sure to use her fist slamming into the side of his mask to tell him that she didn't want him to say anything more. How effective that had been is still a topic of much discussion among the inner thoughts of Mt Lady.

"As I was saying, you'll be even more of a hero than you already are if you join me and the Chikara Sākuru Agency. CSA for short. How does it sound Izu?" Mt Lady asked with an even bigger smile than before. Izuku tried to speak, but with his wheezing and coughing he couldn't even get out a word. Both heroes looking worried for him before Kamui shoulder bumped Mt Lady out of the way and passed him a water bottle. Izuku quickly chugging the thing down with no care for how messy it looked as Kamui spoke up once more.

"Doragon. Fame isn't the only thing you'll want as a hero is it? After what you did I can tell you don't just want fame. Let me train your body to its fullest potential and we can be the most heroic hero and sidekick duo in all of Japan after you graduate! We could even-" Almost with blinding speed Mt Lady shot forth from where she was on the ground and shoved Kamui to the side. As per any normal response to such an action, Kamui retaliated with a shove. Soon enough, the two ended up shoving each other to the side over and over. Neither using their quirks to end the shoving contest with Izuku watching on with a face full of confusion and a growing want for more water for his still burning throat. But walking away from two pro heroes? Izuku couldn't do that. Not now, not ever.

"Can't the both of you train him? Unless the kid wants to join the Senior Rescue and Safety Agency? That's SRSA for short." The voice of another, slightly muffled hero had interjected. When Izuku turn to his right to see him, he recognized the hero instantly.

Backdraft!

He was still dressed almost exactly like a firefighter. His fire hydrant-like appendages still covering over his hands while he readied them to spray both Pro's with water if either started fighting properly. Of course, Izuku knew that wouldn't do much unless aimed for some specific areas but mentioning that wasn't exactly the kind of thing he wanted to or could mention as of now. Both heroes stared at Backdraft, Izuku and each other for moments on end. Both contemplating the idea of training him together while also struggling to win the shoving match. "I guess… it might work?" Kamui said tentatively, expecting retaliation from Mt Lady. Instead of a complete rejection of the idea like he expected, she reluctantly decided to agree to the idea.

"Yeah. It'll be good for teamwork. We can start tomorrow, we'll meet here okay Doragon?" With a sigh of relief Izuku nodded. Letting a smile come across his face once again. Backdraft held out one of his appendages towards Izuku, the boy opening his mouth wide before he let the clean water flow. Controlling the water so that it picked up and removed anything left over from Izuku's quirk. Izuku thanking him profusely for it as he rubbed the tears from his eyes. "And you can help out Backdraft." Mt Lady stated as she walked beside the rescue hero. An arm of hers around the rescue heroes shoulder before she began to whisper to him. "You're going to fucking help us out on this or I swear you'll be spouting water out of your-"

"OH! That's an awesome idea Mt Lady! I can have rounded training from all three of you!" Izuku blurted out before he began to murmur and contemplate about rescue training and developing his quirk. Of course, not one of the three heroes could understand this inarticulate muttering and the occasional wide-eyed announcement when a good idea came into his mind. While Midoriya went on and on with his machinations about being a hero, the three heroes exchanged contact numbers. Each knowing from the outset that training him 'together' would be an impossible task if they wanted to keep their sanity in check.

And so, the three heroes were able to pry Izuku from his thoughts and gain his own contact number. The elation from Izuku enough for all of them to not try to second-guess the mutterings from before. As they all left the area, another hero looked on with a smile. "You're going to go farther than you think kid. But… you're not what one for all needs."

* * *

His smile was so much bigger and wider than it had ever been before. So much so that when he rounded a corner towards the apartment block he was living in, Kaachan made sure to push Izuku into the wall. A grunt of pain eliciting from Izuku as Kaachan blocked his exit with both his hands on the wall to either side of Izuku's head.

"Doragon. You got to stop making me look like a fucking weakling. Do you do this stuff on purpose or what?" His question being one that Izuku had been asking himself. Yet right now, thinking up an answer would have been distracting him from the fact that Kaachan had made their position look quite compromising. So, he made sure to cough and look awkwardly from Kaachan's arms. Kaachan quickly got the hint and let his arms move back down to his sides, a frustrated sigh telling Izuku exactly what he didn't really want to acknowledge. As the two began walking together, Kaachan turned his head to Izuku once more to see if an answer would come. "You actually going to answer or what?"

"I'll try not to make you look like a weakling. Sorry Kaachan." Even if Kaachan did huff at that, he-

"You're such a fucking dumbass Doragon. You don't have to say sorry about it. Just don't make me look like a bloody weakling."

"It'd be rude if I didn't apologize." Izuku replied as he looked to his right, watching a pigeon fly past a man who looked as if he was angrily shouting at the pigeon. Though it was probably to do with the white stain on his trench coat.

"I don't care if it's rude or not." Kaachan replied, his vision not moving from Izuku.

"But I do." Both boys turned to see Inko standing behind them both. Her hands on her hips with a face that seemed to scream annoyance. Though that annoyance was warranted considering they'd both walked straight past the open door. "Why'd you take so long to get home? Are you two-"

"We're just talking Mom…"

"Yeah. Just talking." Izuku immediately narrowed his eyes as he looked over at Kaachan. A shit eating grin already plastered upon his best friend's mouth as Inko raised an eyebrow. Izuku sighed and walked past the two, making his way back into his own home. Not wanting to listen to his mother berate his best friend on timing. Though the faint giggle he heard as he chugged down the nearest bottle of water did puzzle him.

"This is just another show for how ineffective the hero agencies have become as of late." Sitting in what looked to be a comfy chair sat Mr. Sotoshi. Mr. Sotoshi being a cross between a green praying mantis, ant and fly, his clicking speech being translated by the quirk of a translator standing next to him despite the subtitles being used. On another comfy looking chair opposite him sat a middle aged woman with raven black hair set up in a long ponytail. Despite the fact that Mr. Sotoshi wasn't wearing any clothes, Mrs Yaoyorozu was clothed in a full business suit. She quickly asked the insectoid a question.

"So, you wouldn't blame the heroes for not doing anything in the situation?"

"Of course not. Some heroes can do certain things that others can't that's just the truth. But if these agencies can't even hire more well-rounded heroes for situations like this and beyond then… are they truly trying to keep us safe?"

"Well the agencies can't hire heroes if they don't even get past the UA exams. With what they've become we-"

"So, you're suggesting the entire school system of UA change? Just to accommodate for a wider scope of heroes and their abilities?"

"I think it should. Truthfully. I think really the reason no one is bringing this up is because of All-Might. But we must remember that he isn't going to be around forever and if there aren't heroes who can do more, then the system needs to change."

Click. Click. Click.

Another forum for fans. Another forum for R-rated heroes and…

Finally. A forum for those who want the system to change, yet… barely anyone is there. Not even enough to care about, barely enough to make a difference.

"With a string of debates online about the subject and the recent debut of the hero Mt Lady, the jury is still out on whether or not our system needs to change. What would you have to say is your closing statement for the voters at home?" The host, Ms Lois Kent, asked Mr. Sotoshi after Mrs Yaoyorozu had finished her own ending statement.

"Just to… look at other countries who have different laws to ours, take Britain and America for example. They have an ever-changing system of more lax laws on quirks and yet both those countries have less outright illegal quirk users for crimes than this country does, what is our problem? Our system."

"Thank you for your time Mr. Sotoshi. Tomorrow night we will have Principal Nezu from UA to talk with Mr. Sotoshi and Mrs Yaoyorozu about what the school will change coming it's next school year, and later tonight we get in touch with Mt Lady to see how this newer hero can curb the accusations against her by people who think she should be more proactive in the hunt for the now underground Hero Killer."

Mt Lady? She's just another one out for fame. An obvious ploy in trying to bring the world closer to ruin. If even this couldn't convince them to be like All-Might then he had to bring himself back into the spotlight.

The hero killer had to return to the spotlight.

* * *

Contact with stomach acid, secretion, and heat resistance. Notes from his dad that still didn't make as much sense as he wanted them too. Of course, the most interesting thing would be the 'dragon' organ. But ever since birth, Izuku hadn't been able to utilize this 'dragon' organ to his fullest capabilities. At least that was the continued belief of Kaachan. Generally, Izuku had tried to not think on the matter. Mostly because he'd rather try experimenting with what he could do with what he had been given. Yet, the nagging feeling of being left behind because his quirk just wasn't strong enough always made him want to do something about it. But getting a doctor to try and experiment with your quirk was illegal. Plain and simple. While it might have been fruitful to try his luck with the bile he'd used to burn the slime villain, secreting the necessary substance to make his quirk that powerful had taken quite a bit of resolve. Not to mention the fact that he was still suffering from the consequences of that decision. Especially if the three bottles of water and can of ginger ale now currently squashed into his bin was anything to take into consideration. But if he'd used his power further than that he might even be able to melt Rubidium. But, melting something at 39 degrees Celsius would take a lot out of him and probably take a bit of a toll on his body. Not to mention where he'd get Rubidium from…

While trying to search his mind for an answer, a knock on the door broke that meagre concentration. Before he had even gotten to the door to his room, it was opened by a… police officer? The reason as to why someone like a police officer was opening doors in his home was quite clear, the sour expression on the officer's face however wasn't. With a huff he walked forward, effectively blocking exit from the small bedroom.

"You're going to have to come with me Izuku Midoriya, as you're a minor you're going to be accompanied by your mother. Get your footwear on and we can go and get this cleared up."

Complying with the orders from the officer, Izuku and his mother were escorted out from their home and to the evening air. Now cold enough for Izuku to regret not changing into warmer clothes once he'd gotten home. His mother made sure to hold his hand tightly as they were taken to the officer's car. The drive to the station was quiet. His mother being the one who was making the most noise out of any of them, Izuku hoping that this wasn't going to be as serious as it seemed to be.

A moment before he entered the station, he could see a scrawny man near one of the adjacent alleyways looking forlorn. As the station doors shut on them and the outside world, he realized that thinking up something like that was probably a capable thing his imagination could create and dismissed it.

Now inside a small rectangular room and sitting on a chair, Izuku let himself cry. Wiping those tears, the moment a different police officer came in. This one being seemingly the 'good' officer in this situation as he placed a cup of water in front of him. Except this officer looked even more… annoyed? Exasperated? Tired even, though that probably came with the job.

"Alright kid, we both know what you've done. Now to get this all finished I need a statement. What do you have to say in your own defence?" As Izuku took in a breath, the door leading into the room swung open. Looking over to the entrance, he saw a tall woman in work dress, a pile of papers in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. The bags under her eyes giving the coffee a purpose as she took it to her lips and seemed to drink the last tendrils of what was left in that cup. Her mess of purple and black hair flowing behind her as she walked to Izuku's side. Slamming those papers down on the table, her eyes trained on the officer with the utmost concentration.

"My client doesn't need to say a word to you. Now how about you hop and skip right out of here and let me speak to him huh?" With a swear word that Izuku hadn't heard before, the officer left the room. The woman rubbed the tears from Izuku's eyes with a tissue before letting out a yawn that would scare any dentist to their knees with how jagged and long her teeth were. Izuku however, was staring. Not so much in abject shock and horror, but in a 'Whoa that's the coolest thing I've seen today, and I've seen All-Might today' kind of look. The tall woman noticed it quickly and let out a small giggle. Ruffling Izuku's hair for a moment before looking through the pile of paper she'd brought with her. "I'm Kaito Shinso. You don't have to worry about being formal with me Midoriya. Fortunately, I think you're going to be a great hero one day. You're lucky I help heroes that are starting out on the regular. You might want to stick to this area though, I'm not going to be able to help if you move too far out of Tokyo. Good thing is, lying on national television isn't a crime and you've got a self-defence alibi. You didn't use your quirk till your hands had been all over that villain. Now, usually I'd have to work around an agency but with you we can skip that pointless bureaucracy. Keep this on you."

"But... that's a lie." Izuku replied as he shoved her firm's card into his pocket. Kaito let out a sigh. But it seemed as if she'd been expecting his response. Rubbing her eyes as she shuffled through paper after paper. Eventually finding nothing to give Izuku any hope of not having to lie. "I can't lie to the police."

"Midoriya. It's great and all that you think you must be the 24/7 most heroically inclined teenager in the world. Thing is, you'll probably go to prison if you don't and a kid like you isn't going to get out of prison unscathed." The word unscathed hung in the room like water hangs to a tap before it drops and breaks into pieces in the sink. Except, Izuku is far softer than a sink.

"I won't lie to the police. I broke the law, I'm responsible. I should have to pay for that." Kaito started mumbling something incoherent before looking towards Izuku with pouting pretty much ingrained on her features.

"Just… Just don't speak Midoriya. Don't speak and you'll make sure your mother doesn't cry any more than she already has." As she turned back to scrolling through those pages of bureaucracy, Izuku looked to her with another tear in his eye. Quickly wiping that one away as he complied with Kaito. Knowing full well what she was proposing if he didn't comply. A few minutes passed before the same officer and a man in a suit came into the room. The officer keeping behind the man in the suit as if being near Kaito made you burst into flames. The man in the suit moved his beagle head to look down at Izuku. His eyes watching the boy's lack of movement before turning his attention to Kaito.

"Whatever point you want to make about this, you don't need to. Izuku Midoriya isn't going to prison." He turned to look back at Izuku, the reluctance in his voiced laced with regret as he told Izuku something he'd refused thousands of other people before. "You are being issued an official warning. That means if this ever happens again, then you'll…"

"Surely he knows what it means. Unless you'd like a refresher course on one of the most important laws of our country?" Kaito smiled obnoxiously as the man in the suit looked over at her. Izuku could've sworn he'd heard a low groan come from the man before he turned back to Izuku. Within minutes he was out of that room with his mother's arms around him. Not taking the time to give her even a glance. Too many thoughts racked his mind. Why had they let him go so easily? Why had one of the officer's called Miss Kaito a 'cunt' (Whatever that means?) under his breath? But the biggest question of all was one his mother also held in her own mind. Why had the sleepless lawyer helped them of all people?

At home, neither Izuku or Inko had brought those questions to the forefront. Inko quickly distracted herself with news coverage of Mt Lady's latest heroic deed while Izuku made sure to stay in his room. Already he had text messages from all three-pro's telling him that they'd make sure the sleepless lawyer didn't need to be involved anymore and confirming who he'd be training with tomorrow.

Kamui Woods!

Training with him was going to be amazing, spectacular, astonishing, sensational! Maybe even superior to the other two but saying that would have just been rude. Perhaps the weirdest thing however, was that Kamui wanted him to come at six in the morning and wear any get-up that would be conducive to a sporting event as well as swimming trunks. While such a request was a little baffling, Izuku couldn't help but think that Kamui was going to try and train his body instead of his quirk. While that new knowledge was a little disheartening, it did make a lot more sense than letting someone partially made of wood try to deal with the aftermath of burning vomit. He quickly figured that Backdraft would be the one doing the dowsing if Izuku got out of hand, but then what would Mt Lady be doing? Sure, she could tag along with Kamui, but the two seemed to not like each other that much. Maybe she'd help with Backdraft? But she wouldn't be able to do much if Izuku's quirk got out of hand. With too many other questions whizzing about in his head and few answers for those questions being available to him all that soon, Izuku decided that he'd be a little brash. Just a little. In a few moments he could hear the familiar spraying of water he'd heard right before he had saved Kaachan. Perhaps she was going to join Backdraft after all, still couldn't hurt to talk right?

"What do you want Doragon? Any second thoughts?"

"No."

"Darn. Worth a try. Well, what is it Midoriya?"

"I was… How do you know my name?"

"Bakugou told me. I mean, kind of hard not to hear from my cousin when you're involved. Anyway, the question Midoriya?"

"It's about you. I think I know that Backdraft's helping me with my quirk and Kamui Woods is helping me with my physical training, but I don't think there's that much of a third thing you could do differently on your own."

"Are you calling me useless?"

"What? No! No, no! I didn't mean it like that! I'm so sorry!"

"I see why it's taking so long… It's all right Midoriya, I'm messing with you." Once Izuku realized this rather obvious fact, he felt relieved. A sigh that quickly turned to a scream when he fell back in place from his chair as a familiar voice bellowed out the other side.

"WE'RE STUDYING TOGETHER DIPSHIT!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

"You'll have to forgive them Midoriya. Well, because there's quite a lot for you to do, she's helping you study so you don't fall behind in your grades. We'll be giving you the detailed list for the next 10 months tomorrow. Now, I need to stop those two from breaking all my furniture." Backdraft said, his speaking still muffled except this time it sounded as if he was speaking through his teeth rather than anything else.

Izuku let out a breath as he smiled at the thought of Bakugou getting hosed down by Backdraft. Some things will always be funny.

* * *

So, there he sat, upon his bed. Not a creak from a mouse, not a squeak from a rat. His mother juggling the emotions all mothers do while their children try to prove to the world why they deserve to be on this earth. The paparazzi reporter still struggling to keep his clothes frosty when dealing with a father's quirk. The true danger still lurking in the shadows, waiting to be found. With no one around to break the news of a feud between order and chaos, with all but chaos striking through conceivable worlds to spook the boy who tried so hard to stay away from a boring fate. Yet the universe decided to throw him a bone and complicate how he perceives his own life. A dream-like state emerges through his sheets as he sleeps in waiting for a day he'd never want to forget, too focused on the future that the past wishes to give him more than slight countenance.

His dreams return him to places he still hasn't seen. Yet, there's a familiarity with this that he just can't place. Almost as if he's gone through it all before. There he stands in front of the scrawny All-Might. His eyes wide with amazement as he hears the words he's always wanted to hear. "Izuku Midoriya. You can become a hero." Light flashes around them, blinding everything before he hears a crack. Glass cracking and stretching before smashing into thousands of pieces. He reaches out to grab a shard only to see himself in the reflection. While he stares he can see eight lights of varying colours all around himself. He goes to look, and the lights are gone, it is only in the reflection that they exist. Green lighting encompasses the mirror Izuku. The mirror Izuku reaches out his hand to touch Izuku's own hand but the shard smashes into a million pieces. Purple lighting now shooting from the pieces. In a blink two people appear in front of him. One with armour covering his entire body, looking just like Ingenium but smaller. The other is a girl with a pink and black skin-tight outfit on. He can't quite place why they both look so familiar despite never meeting Ingenium or whoever the girl was…

"URAVITY! INGENIUM!" But Izuku knows he hasn't said a word. It's the mirror Izuku! Still shouting to keep control of this dream before the two heroes turn to dust and are thrown back into the millions of pieces of glass. Two new figures stand before him now, exactly in the same spots as the others. Yet both are covered in shadows, as if they need to be hidden away from his eyes. In between the two now stands Bakugou. His smile wide before running straight at Izuku, his hand going straight towards Izuku's face as an explosion shoots out towards him from that hand.

"DIE SHITTY DEKU!"

In less than a second, he's broken out of the dream, panting gently after letting go of the nearly crushed All-Might plushie in his hand. More questions shoved into his mind while one takes precedence over the rest.

Who is Deku?

* * *

Thank you for reading! I would also like to thank blamedorange on Tumblr for allowing me to use his cousin's au idea. I would also like to thank Laet-lyre for the wonderful research they've done to help me and idea bouncing as well as SabletKnight for the great beta reading and idea bouncing.


	2. Words Maketh The Man

Refusing to do her hair might have been her choice, but all hell would break loose before her elder sister would stop nagging about it. At this point it became a ritual: The morning sun would break into all three of their respective rooms, Mieko would use her quirk to phase through the walls and awaken Mamoru from his slumber so that he didn't leave water dripping from his fingertips again, then she would berate Mina on her hair. Most of the time, Mieko was troubling her with statements that just resonated with worries Mina absolutely, and she made it obvious, didn't have.

"Y'know Mom's going to start combing your hair like she tried with Mamoru. You should just start now so it doesn't come up."

"I think you're forgetting the keyword in that sentence Mieko, tried." A quick rolling of the eyes as she giggled all but confirmed the end of their morning ritual. Mamoru found the two watching the latest news within their parent's bedroom. Both turned to face him with immense smiles before snatching up the cups of coffee being held in his hands. He sat next to his two twin sisters as the news went on to a story from yesterday. The eyes of both girls widened after seeing the boy catch the other in his arms, doing his best to get his friend to the Pro's. Letting her thoughts turn to words Mieko commented on the boy who the news had dubbed 'Doragon'.

"He looks kind of uhm… what's the word?"

"Cute?" Mina interjected. Mieko took the opportunity to let her brother take the next comment as to not get any sarcasm on his part.

"Sure, if you're into plain looking boys." Mina just stuck her tongue out at him for that. Her arms crossed as a grin spread across Mieko's purple face. Mina whispered to herself with all the quietness a megaphone would bring.

"We don't all have to be into Cuban models y'know" As per the usual response whenever his boyfriend was brought up, Mamoru blushed brighter than his red skin should have allowed. Both Mieko and Mina were laughing while waiting for the response they anticipated from their flustered brother.

"He's a gymnast not a model!"

"That's not what you said to Mom..."

"Ugh! I give up on you two! You two are never getting free coffee again!" Quickly Mina got rid of the sly smile and joined Mieko in begging for him not to deny them his magical coffee making skills, much to Mamoru's amusement. "Kneel." Mamoru said before Mina's sly smile returned. His eyebrow raised as he wondered why she had gotten so confident once again.

"Is that what he says when- "

"Morning to you all!" Their red skinned and white bearded father shouted near to the top of his lungs, scaring all of them into stopping what they had been doing. Mamoru for one dashed straight out from the room, quickly remembering that he had about three minutes before the shop opened. Mieko followed in his wake, similarly recalling that she had somewhere to be today, despite not actually having any sort of plan for where she was supposed to be today. Which of course left Mina, now slouching as she realized what they'd done.

"Well, looks like you'll have to help me with the washing. C'mon, your mother doesn't teach so you can sit around doing nothing." With a sigh she complied, her sly smile turning to more of a neutral one, this wasn't too bad was it? Maybe she'd hear about the Doragon guy on the news later. "Mina… Earth to Mina! Taking off for cleaning in three, two- "Like many speedy heroes before her, she blurted out the next part, dust pan and brush already snatched up from the corner of the room.

"ONE!" As she started brushing, she suddenly realized something Mieko would've said by now. A question that stands to be one of the most important questions in the universe. Well, this universe anyway. "Didn't her students all go to some big graduation party?" Her father smiled, chuckling to himself before answering his daughter, knowing that she would see right through any lie he made to cover this up.

"She's teaching a new student that wants to get into UA. You should head around twelve or so if you want to meet up with him, but you'll have to finish pretty quickly." As intriguing as the thought of meeting someone other than Kirishima who wanted to be accepted into UA was, she still had to help her dad clean up. So, she reluctantly performed her task before she could execute any sort of plan.

X=X

Hitoshi on the other hand, had other different plans. While this idea of his didn't deviate from his usual daily motions, he still wanted to call it a plan. A plan of including quite a bit less than most would expect. Instead of scheming or turning all those around him into mind slaves, he made sure to feed his cat and use his bicycle to ride down the familiar streets of Tokyo, smelling the familiar mix of fresh air and polluted sidewalks, and watching the unassuming birds as they flew above them all. How easy it would be let themselves fall, for gravity to crush them under their embrace. Yet, they flew as beautifully and as gracefully as ballet dancers above all who walk upon the Earth itself. Perhaps it was selfish for them to stay above, to show wholeheartedly an ability humanity didn't master until 1912. Maybe it was their responsibility to show humanity what they could achieve if they believed and worked for hard enough.

Humans are greedy however, not able to stop at the air. Humans went from the air to the outer most reaches of their planet, even conquering their own moon. Humans so easily surpassed what had taunted them for centuries and then let their own issues stop them from ever going, as All-Might had said time and time again, beyond plus ultra. Shinso thought stealing from his uncle's history lecture just to make a metaphor might not have been the best idea he could have had, but then again, the tree he'd nearly run into didn't seem to complain.

Straying back onto the road, Hitoshi made turn after turn while avoiding the swift end a car would give more times than he wanted to admit. He stopped in front of a building that was neither a constant source of muttering allusions to his future nor a solace from that those allusions. But one person he'd expected to meet inside was standing just outside, looking as if she were waiting for a ride of some sort.

"Mizutani-Sensei?" He asked as he approached her, wondering if she had family issues or something close to it. As expected, she turned to face him. A warm smile forming upon her lips as she saw who it was. That smile soon became as bright as her clothes. The mix of a red hoodie, pink tank top and newly dyed turquoise hair were strikingly different from the green jeans and blue trainers she always wore. Just as she was about to speak, the revving of an engine made her rethink her original plan of speech she had wanted to engage her old student in.

"I've got to go, get yourself ready for next Saturday okay?" Once he had responded in a quick nod, she turned away from him. His old teacher walked towards a man with blonde hair, a leather blue jacket, shaved blonde sideburns and what looked to be a rather small tail. Mizutani sat behind the man on his motorcycle before wrapping her arms around the man's waist. When she looked to where Hitoshi was, she could already see that he was disappointed. But, he'd managed much worse. He could manage one missed day, couldn't he?

Well, of course he could. Not that he found swimming from one side of the pool to the other all that enjoyable when he didn't have someone to talk to about his form. He did regret not asking her why she had to go today, why she had gone off with whoever that was. Unluckily for Hitoshi, he hadn't wanted to stay much longer in the pool despite the obvious drawbacks it had. Back to the bicycle it was.

With what his mother did, Hitoshi knew that going back home was going to be a one-way trip to dealing with Jessica's desire to have food every single hour of the day, which he usually complied with. Like he'd said to his mothers.

"Can't say no to her."

So that left him with two wondrously boring options. Either go ahead and keep riding the streets of Tokyo till curfew came or follow that huge crowd in the middle of the street. It was probably just another villain thinking he was a big shot only for the heroes to stop them easily. That's what nearly always happened no matter who was there, especially with All-Might around. He should turn around and just go. Watching this stuff wasn't what he ever wanted to do so he just turned away, not caring for whatever went on there. After all, if you're not like All-Might, there's not much point is there?

X=X

By the time it was twelve Mina was outside the dojo. Walking past the receptionist with a smile as she sipped on her strawberry milkshake. She wore a simple t-shirt with a xenomorph on it as per usual and shorts that wouldn't be allowed in school by a centimeter or two. The destroyed soles of her pink shoes barely hung on as she walked to where she knew her Mom was going to be. Where her mother's new student was going to be waiting for her. Wait. Waiting for her? That didn't make sense, why would they be waiting for her at all. It doesn't…

She stops dead in her tracks as she sees him, the green hair too obvious to not notice as he throws another punch in front of him. Instantly inspecting the boy, she can see that he's wearing more modest shorts than she is, with an All-Might top to boot. He's shoeless and in a stance resembling riding on a horse yet it's so easy it makes her wonder why he doesn't look comfortable in the stance. Then again, this could be his first day. But he'd been a hero yesterday, a hero who looked cu-plain. Just plain. It isn't long before she notices her mother in the same position, her horns out and her hair in its usual pink ponytail. Then he jumps, nearly a three hundred and sixty rotation and he can see her staring right at him. His eyes widen before she winks and waves over at him. Throwing her milkshake behind her as she watches his shocked look turn confused while his cheeks darken. The milkshake lands in the bin as she opens the door wide and greets him with a smile that breaks his concentration completely.

"Hi! I'm Mina! You're that Doragon guy, right? You want to go get some milk- "Suddenly her mother appeared between the two, her eye's already indicating how far she'd have kicked Mina if she was somebody else. Mina gulps and lets out a small chuckle, Doragon peeking behind her towering figure of a mother before she points towards Mina, then the floor in front of her. Mina nods quickly before her mother walks to the left, heading straight for her massive exercising bag. Doragon just stared for a moment before trying to smile, mostly failing before he decides to just try and talk instead.

"It's Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you Ashido-san."

"It's just Mina, you don't have to be that formal with me."

"O-Okay… Mina-san." Mina sighed happily before face palming. Just like Kirishima, Izuku had to be hesitant about not using honorifics, didn't he? Maybe she'd have to remind him enough to stop using them. Especially if her mother was doing what she thought her mother was doing.

"Good enough Midori."

"M-Midori?"

"It sounds cuter than Midoriya. Besides, being accurate is better isn't it?" She states with a wink. Again, his cheeks darken and his eyes dart to the floor. Mina's sly smile returns as she wonders how far her teasing could go with him. Unfortunately, she can't contemplate further as a martial arts robe is thrown atop her head. A sigh coming straight from beneath the now hidden Mina before she heads out the hallway to the nearest changing room.

Getting to the changing room and getting changed into the slightly large robes almost felt like getting back on a bicycle. Though she'd never say that to her mother. The last thing she wanted was more worrying on their part. Sobbing after giving some villain directions had been an experience Mina didn't want to ever subject herself to again. Originally, she had decided to not mention such an event, it wasn't like they needed to know about it all. The problem however was with the dreams she had been forced through because of the one thing that held back in the world… sleep. Her dreams had been covered in darkness and screaming, a massive indoor space, villains all around her and a swelling purple and black void. While she hadn't talked about the weird green and purple lighting that always seemed to fight for control as it didn't really pertain to the rest of the dream, she had explained all of this and the villain encounter after waking up her entire house through her scream alone. It had been a unanimous decision for Mina's mother to start training her in Taekwondo after that. While the training was about as tiring as one would expect, the fact that she'd been picked up from school by Kamui Woods of all people for a week had been cool. Mina hadn't even needed to see Kirishima to know how jealous he must have been at that point. Luckily her mother hadn't cut down on the breakdancing routines, so there had been that to look forward to.

Once she had returned with the robes on, she made sure to join in with the shadow training her mother was using. Her movements far more fluid than Midoriya's at the time. So much so that when she'd come to strike him with a kick during their first 'spar' (even if she'd have called it an ass-whooping), Izuku couldn't help but get his face slapped by her foot. His body nearly spun around before landing on the mat with a thud. He quickly shoved his arm up and gave a thumb up to show that he was okay. Okay and utterly floored. "If you keep admiring my moves, I'll keep beating you Midori."

Watching him blush again at the new nickname and the almost compulsory wink brought on her smile. A smile that she quickly found made him turn away slightly, if only to hide more of his fluster. Izuku quickly pushed himself back up into a stance. Mina kicking straight at the same place, missing by a few centimeters as her leg passed over his head. With a rush from his small of triumph, Izuku closed the distance between them and sent a punch hurtling forward towards her torso. However, in seconds she changed her footing so that he would need to move just that bit more toward her. Mina gripped his closed fist with both her hands and sidestepped the punch, throwing his arm towards the edge of the mat. He tried to find his footing, but Mina could see that he was already leaning off the edge of the mat. His arms flapped at his sides as he tried to find a way to get back on both his feet. Without warning or provocation, Mina leant forward to help him. Gripping his shoulders before yanking him back to an upright position. Before he could have thanked her, she spun him around to face her, that identical smile on her face already forcing a smile from Izuku's lips.

"Can't be a hero if I can't help everyone can I? Now come on Midori. Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" While the centuries old movie reference went right over Izuku's head, he had gotten the gist of what she had meant.

"I'll try to hit you but you're pretty amazing at this Mina-san." Mina can only smile at that. Her smile widened once she had realized what she could say next.

"Do or do not. There is no try." A cavalcade of laughter ensuing from all three in the room. Mina now knowing that it had been a wise decision to not follow her sisters example,

X=X

Despite the sort of money his mother was paid, she had decided to live as close to his school as possible. Being a school that she had been recommended, she had put far too much effort into helping Hitoshi. School clothes that were pristine, resources the other students were supposed to be jealous of and even supposed friends he would have. Unfortunately, due to the existence of private schools that his mother refused to send him to out of some misguided sense of wanting him to grow up like a normal child, he'd been left with kids who didn't care for his mother's efforts, those that seemed to have a grudge against him for reasons that had been shoveled against him for quite a while now. Reasons that Hitoshi accepted even if he wanted to tell them to walk through a cactus patch.

Immediate regret implanted itself into his mind the moment he saw the three who were standing and watching the villain and hero fight. All three classmates were pretty much enamored by whatever was going on in front of the crowd. A quick sigh escaped from Hitoshi as he had turned around, his leg raised to get back on his bike before someone noticed hi-

"Hey Kilgrave!"

Shit.

"Don't go running now. Your friends are in a bit of trouble back there, or were you just going to run away like a coward?" Hitoshi let out another sigh, his leg back to where it had been before he turned to face the three. Hitoshi narrowed his eyes as he stared at the one who had spoken.

"Ooooooh! Is Hitoshi finally going to be villainous? Or are you too scared to use that fist of yours?" Confusion hit him like freight train within seconds. A fist? He wasn't… Yet, when he looked down he could see that his right hand was indeed curled up into a fist. Moments later he relaxed his hand, not wanting to start something he didn't want to have to finish.

The first to start walking towards him had been Apukohai Mano. His name being one that described his mutant-type quirk just fine. His skin was gray, with fins popped out of his arms as well as one on his back. Teeth that could certainly bite off Hitoshi's arms if he wanted to and a tail that nearly stretched out far enough to touch the ground. The gills on his neck meant that he had to stick his head in freshwater every 10 hours or so, luckily that was an easy task when they all lived so close to Dagoba beach. Shame he was a shitty swimmer though. "Coward then huh? Tch. What kind of weak-ass villain are you Shinso?"

The second person to walk towards him had been Osamma Sato. Like her friend, she was also one born with her quirk. Hers allowed her to speak with squirrels which had gotten her the nickname 'Squirrel girl'. However, that nickname had been slowly forgotten about as she developed her quirk into speaking to and commanding squirrels which had left several students with acorns shoved into their noses. While Shinso had tried to restart the nickname in a mad bid to get attention away himself, he'd quickly been convinced otherwise by the sheer amount of excrement squirrels could leave over everything in his bag. Her long, straight brown hair usually made him remember that incident. "Get over here and say something already Kilgrave."

The third to walk towards him had been a student whom only wanted to be recognized as Hisashi. While their clothing remained rather androgynous, most had confused them for a he due to the deep voice. Though those people usually ended up with either having to quickly apologize or run away with singed backsides. His dark hood and ninja mask making his voice muffled and deep while showing off exactly the kind of family he was from. Even if Hitoshi had needed to look up the Shirai Ryu clan just to make sure. Hitoshi had put his plans of trying to do something to him into the nearest bin bag quicker than Ingenium could ever travel after that revelation.

"You three done or should I call this the shit I don't care about meeting?" Sarcasm didn't exactly have the effect he wanted, especially with Osamma holding back a laugh as her hands went over her mouth. Apukohai made sure to give her a stern look while Hisashi just crossed their arms. With no answer from them, Hitoshi turned around. Just as he was about to get on his bike he felt a hand grab onto his wrist. A rather grey and wet hand at that, but still a hand nonetheless.

"Did anyone say you could leave Kilgrave? I'm pretty sure the heroes would love to see the kind of stuff you could do to innocent people."

Once again, his fist formed. He focused on breathing in and out as he'd been taught before so that he didn't do anything he'd regret. But Apukohai's grip didn't falter. "Let me go." Instantly the grip on him tightened, Osamma simultaneously becoming quiet. Apukohai waited a moment before snorting and loosening his grip to what it was before. Hitoshi turned to face him before repeating exactly what he'd said before. He hadn't meant to activate his quirk. He hadn't meant to make Hisashi and Osamma run in fear. He hadn't meant to feel good about being in control for once.

Yet, it did feel good to be in control. It felt…

So, he told Apukohai to run to his friends. Hitoshi's head slumped down in shame as he turned back to his now fallen bike. The boy crouched down to pick it up. At least until he heard a shout that might've been directed towards him. Honestly, did someone just call him sleeping bags?

"Oi! Sleeping bags! Get the fuck over here!"

Shinsou turned to look at the rude blonde, quickly facing his bike once again. Ignoring the footsteps that crunched over the leaves despite his annoyance.

"How the fuck did you get them to do that? Was it like your quirk or something?"

"No." 'No? Lying isn't going to get me anywhere. Would he really run away if I told him? Would he be scared if I told him? Maybe.' "I'm just good at convincing people."

"That's a crock of shit." Hitoshi's eyes widened. How this guy had seen instantly through his ruse he didn't know, but hell would freeze over before he revealed what it was.

"You didn't hear it so…"

"How does that even matter sleeping bags?"

"So perhaps I am good at convincing people and you just weren't close enough to listen to it?"

"Still calling bullshit. What is your quirk anyway?"

"It's… I'd rather not say." While the obvious disappointment from him said more than enough, Hitoshi didn't want a repeat of the previous events. "It's Hitoshi Shinso by the way. Not sleeping bags."

"Katsuki Bakugou. See you around sleeping bags." Without even a wave the boy walked away. Shinso figuring that he must have somewhere to be if he'd given up on questioning so easily.

X=X

"Midoriya, I expect you back here on Monday with the proper attire." Both student hopefuls quickly nod. Izuku was wiping the sweat from his brow as he sat down on the mat. Using his arms to support his body as he leaned back, Izuku was breathing in and out more than he ever remembered having to do because of something that wasn't related to his quirk.

"Not used to this are you?" Mina inquired as she sat next to him on her knees. She leaned towards him with a smile that he'd seen Kaachan use a thousand times before: The slightly smug face. Only slightly since she wasn't running around the room proclaiming total victory over the 'extras'. "You'll get used to it soon enough. Besides, Mom usually doesn't do Taekwondo on Monday. I didn't think she'd want to just up and stop teaching ballet on Mondays just for one guy…"

"She uh… she isn't. I'm the one doing the ballet." Izuku rolls his eyes as Mina covers her mouth while trying to stop herself from laughing. It doesn't work however and soon she's in hysterics. While the mental image of Midoriya doing pirouettes in a tutu wasn't being actively shown via telepathic contact, it felt like it. "It's for the training I'm supposed to go through to be a hero, I get Taekwondo from your mom for combat training, ballet barre to strengthen my legs and core further so I'm more effective in combat along with it being highly technical and requiring awareness of intricate body motions as well as a reliance on the larger muscle groups which further allows me to build up my muscles without just relying on one particular muscle group and to give me a short break from the strain of martial arts training, Yoga being taught by Kamui Woods so that I'm flexible enough to keep up with my combat training and furthermore to protect my joints and muscles so I can reduce the risk of injury to myself, Swimming being taught by a Mizutani-Sensei which will get me a cardio-vascular workout as well to help me develop my back and shoulders in strength and size and moreover to id my endurance and sprinting capacity." Mina kept on laughing despite the plethora of reasons he had for her, though he didn't know that she was now laughing due to how ridiculously and meticulously he had thought out all this. Izuku had thought that this little alteration wouldn't get any worse. Yet, as if life liked throwing a wrench in his plans, it did.

"WHY ARE YOU FUCKING LAUGHING AT HIM?" Seconds after Bakugou had opened the doors the blond haired best friend was already sprinting his way over to Mina. His hands were outstretched and ready to give her a rather explosive make-over. However, despite the obvious danger she was in, Mina just smiled, standing up while Bakugou ran towards her. Once close enough, she grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward. Holding her leg out so that he tripped, his head slammed face first into the mat while she put her hands on her hips and giggled.

"He a friend of yours?" She asks as if he hadn't just tried to blow a hole through her head. Izuku nods, desperately trying to hold back his own laughter as Bakugou gets up. His fuming gaze lays on the pink girl before he lunges for her again, but Mina just sidesteps. Her own beaming smile just making Bakugou even angrier. Izuku quickly gets in between the two, his arms spread out as if he could protect Mina better than she could protect herself. As Bakugou prepared a second lunge, Izuku stares him dead in the eyes and suggests quite the odd scenario.

"Think of me doing ballet Kaachan. Think of it and visualize it in your mind!" The serious tone from Izuku catches both off-guard. Mina looking from Izuku then to Kaachan, waiting for their reaction. Kaachan reacts first, a smile carving itself into his face before belts out as much laughter as she had before. Sighing in relief, Mina walks over to Izuku's side in watching Kaachan laugh. "Sorry about that Mina-san. He… Really doesn't like it when people try to laugh at me."

"But he's fine with laughing at you himself?"

"He only does that when I act serious like I did. He doesn't take serious people that seriously, so I asked why he doesn't just laugh at them instead of telling them to fuck off, so he laughs at them now."

"He just… Listens to you like that?" Mina raised an eyebrow. The curiosity levels within her obviously rising as Izuku watched her fold her arms as her raised eyebrow stayed exactly where it was. "Now a story about that, you got to tell me." Izuku smiled awkwardly before turning to face her. Calmly breathing in then out before starting his story.

X=X

 _"_ _Flying!"_

 _"_ _He's actually flying!"_

 _"_ _So cool!"_

 _It didn't take long for the rest of Izuku's class to shout out things like that when he'd sent himself flying into the air from an accidental vomit. The laughing usually came after he'd made his way back to the ground. Yet, none of them had quirks yet. Why were they laughing at him when he was the coolest thing ever! Bakugou couldn't have that. He couldn't let his friend get laughed at for flying like a dragon. The first time he'd seen it was when he was having a 'playdate' set up by his own mother. He couldn't stop staring at Izuku after it, he wouldn't let anyone think Izuku was anything less than the dragon he was! It didn't matter that Izuku… Doragon didn't like it when he swore, they needed to stop laughing at him!_

X=X

"You admire Midori?"

"Maybe when this fucker actually trains his damn quirk!" Bakugou barked in response, glaring directly at Izuku. Izuku in question looked away while making sure he doesn't bring up how funny it was to watch Bakugou roll around in laughter on the mat. Nor does he bring up the time Bakugou had to get dragged out the classroom for swearing at his peers. With someone like Mina, these things were bound to be brought up. Not today though.

X=X

Boredom sets in rather quickly when shopping for his mother. Not that he'd ever tell her that, she'd just shop with him. No, he keeps it to himself. He also keeps the fact that the French guy forgot to ask for a cape too is the stupidest thing he's ever heard to himself. Not that any of the people around him would even understand him if he started screaming about a French man forgetting about his cape in Welsh or English. Going against his thoughts, he just buys the materials his mother asked for and leaves the shop. Hitoshi makes sure to look both ways before crossing the street while holding his bike. A billboard taking his attention for a moment before he focused on his own life instead of what happened to a hero in the wrong place.

X=X

"Today we open with a story about the Hero Killer who has claimed another victim. The latest victim being the star-eyed hero Quasar. Later today Mr. Sotoshi will be paying his respects to the family- "

"Turn it to something else, I can't take another murder victim story." Hitoshi only rolled his eyes at that. Knowing that Lilybet Shinso, his step-mother, wasn't someone that could stomach much gory details before her face turned pale. Hitoshi unconsciously flicked to a random channel. Though it had been fun to see how she'd reacted to watching one of Mom's beloved hospital drama shows. The fair-skinned woman sat down next to him, her bright golden hair still in a loose mess while her cowlick stood strong against the rest of her mess. Not that Hitoshi had much more to complain about, his hair was just as bad if not worse this morning.

His eyes strayed to the tied-up sleeve of her gray jacket. It was a subject that had led to more than a few jokes about Lilybet being armless which she seemed to enjoy and even joked about as much as anyone else when discussing her amputated right arm. Tearing his vision away, he looked back to what he had changed the channel to. Another rolling of his eyes came as he saw that it was just on an advert about detergent with some C-list hero advertising it. Switching to another channel he saw some advert advertising trainers. A hero with a super-speed quirk trying to sell them in the cheesiest way possible. Hitoshi changed the channel once more only to find an advert selling All-Might plushies, his right hand quickly finding its way to his face as he had already tired of the spectacle of advertising heroes. "You're going to be seeing a hell of a lot more of these y'know." Lilybet stated without even turning to look at Hitoshi with her lilac eyes.

"Why's that Mom?" Hitoshi asked in earnest before ignoring the next bout of 'heroic' advertising. He turned slowly, trying not to disturb Jessica, to look at Lilybet.

"It's a new law. Heroes don't have to go to agencies to become heroes, once you got a hero license you can go and save people from there. Most newer heroes go into advertising, so they don't have to deal with the agencies anymore. Probably why they're getting so anxious about the sport festivals and their own promotion for younger heroes, if they can't employ heroes they don't get money from advertising companies that don't want to lose out on the more popular heroes and-"

"I get it Mom. Agencies are getting a kick in the pants and some idiot is going to try and be a self-employed hero for hire."

"Speaking of which, maybe you'd want to try it when you're old enough? I could make you your suit and I'm sure Kaito wouldn't mind helping you out with the legal stuff." The thought was somewhat appealing at this point. But, there was a reason he wouldn't be going down that sort of road.

"I can't. It'd be too easy for people to want me to use my power in a way that would… that might get someone hurt. I can't just go and say I did something for money. Besides, if I can't accept limitations, I'm no better the bad guys." Lilybet instantly smiled. Reaching over and ruffling the boy's already out of control hair.

X=X

The guilt from being so carefree before striking him as he continues walking. Except it's so much slower this time. So much slower. So much slower that it takes half a second longer for him to notice the smell.

The burning smell.

He turns the corner, seeing something horrible. Not the pro hero battling against a scaly lizard looking man who punches through solid brick. He sees the child at the window of the building that's begun to shake. Arms wrap around her and pull her away from that window. Then another support is knocked out and he can hear the scream from the child. The pro hero is too busy trying not to get his eyes clawed out to notice that the building is about to fall even more. Without knowing it, his feet spur him forward. He's running at full speed towards the double doors that lead inside to the apartment complex, he ignores the screams for him to stop. He yanks his arm out from the grip of some lanky arm as he runs inside, the scream from the child going off again and suddenly he's inside. A realization hits him as the double door entrance gets crushed by rubble.

He's trapped inside with a crying, screaming child and god knows how many more people.

How in the world is he going to survive, let alone try and help anyone?

But he doesn't need an answer, he just needs to remember what he'd heard in his dreams.

"You were awesome out there Shinso!"

"I can't believe they stuck him in general studies! Those idiots…"

"They think you're incredible!"

But the most surprising of all to hear during that dream had been his own. His own voice saying things he'd never even said.

"I'll become a better pro than any of you!" When Shinso opened his eyes he's still there. Still trapped. Yet he hears the praise from around that bright stadium he'd dreamed of and he puts one foot forward towards the screaming and crying all around him.

When spurred on by friends (even those made up in a dream) nothing can stop him.

X=X

A/N: I am so, so sorry for not getting this out sooner. I admit, I did put it off and I did wait for too long. I just have to give a massive thanks to my two beta-readers! I couldn't do it without either of you and this is as much your creation as my own. jilnachtaugen, thank you for all the wonderful idea bouncing and advice. I would love you all to give feedback and as rude criticism as possible! Go nuts! Also, it's the review from Juusan13 that helped shake up my creative pot and take way more time to make sure this was in a good condition, I just hope that my explanations for a few events in the first chapter in here stick as much as I want them to. If not, chew me out on it! I was contemplating doing a prequel chapter explaining the change that caused these other changes throughout the BNHA world, but if it's not needed, then it's not needed. Might still end up writing it anyway. Thank you all for the favourites and follows! Don't worry, I'm not leaving Shinso out on the lurch, next chapter: All-Might enters the Fray!


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